Be Cool

We are born into the doom of being actors. If we are lucky we discover who we are but until then we go through a process of acting a role.

Some movies play with this idea, and "Get Shorty" was one of the most clever of these.

It had two elements: that notion of acting cool and the explicit self-reference of putting it in movies, complete with the command to "look at me."

Behind it was one of the coolest thinkers in cinema, Danny Devito who is a kind of patron saint of self-reference. He who made a film based on "Pale Fire" and whose "Death to Smoochy" is a pinnacle of sorts of introspective writing.

Now comes this, which starts out okay, along the same lines of heavy self-reference until we learn that Devito is to star in a biopic of Johnny Cash.

Then the grind of the inferior mind behind it begins.

Seems they had some idea that Uma Thurman fit into an intelligent enterprise somewhere.

Nope, none of the few things she can do fit into self-reference or folding in any way.

Seems they decided that a mere reference to performance wasn't enough, we had to have the whole pretty-girl-overcomes-adversity thing complete with several performances.

Nope, again.

And they figured that all the cool identity stuff would be carried by a white guy acting black and a black guy acting white.

Nope, nope , nope.

Go watch any Devito-inspired project rather than this.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

John Travolta is back as Chili Palmer in Get Shorty's sequel, "Be Cool". Chili Palmer is a former movie producer (as seen in Get Shorty) who is a former mobster. He is not happy with how his career in the movies is going and decides to branch off in the music industry. It is in a somewhat seedy bar that Chili discovers Linda Moon (Christina Milian) working in a trio. Linda has a strong singing voice but is obviously going nowhere within her group. The movie is basically centered around Linda and her contract. Everybody seems to want it now that Chili has plans and knows what a talent she is.

Getting all the characters on-screen spread them all out a little bit thin, with some barely getting any screen time at all. Most of the better characters got more screen time than I thought they would have. Thankfully, the great chemistry between Vince Vaughn and The Rock gets quite a bit of screen time. Another newcomer who delivers a surprising performance is André Benjamin, or André 3000 as Dabu. Dabu is one of the many in Sin LaSalle's (Cedric The Entertainer) entourage, along with many very large men.

There are many more actors and actresses in this cast but the best characters were those mentioned above. Dustin Hoffman pulled off a great performance, as usual, but even he seemed overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Uma Thurman, Steven Tyler, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Harvey Keitel and many others round off this great cast. I doubt all these actors would commit to something as horrible as we are all led to believe.

The Rock is starting to branch out with his acting range. His big gay bodyguard routine was hilarious, as I doubt I'll ever forget his rendition of "You're Not Woman Enough To Take My Man". Rock and Vince Vaughn as the wannabe pimp complimented each other perfectly and along with Cedric, they are the highlights of the movie. Also, Christina Milian looks to be one of the hotter new actresses on her way up and I was impressed by what I assume was her lip-syncing performance with Steven Tyler. Look for her to be around for awhile.

This was a large cast and, for the most part, they all held their own. My honest review is that this movie is better than it is being given credit for, possibly due to the incredible amount of hype put into it, turning many viewers against it. I went into this movie with an open mind and not expecting a great movie and I came out entertained. Because of this, I can recommend this movie with a clear conscience.

The Shylock turned movie mogul is back for a sequel, and this time he is interested in music. The movie industry is just too fake whereas the people in the music industry are real. Chili Palmer, played by John Travolta, has the same antics and same behaviorisms. He is still smarter than the next guy, tougher than him too, and he can beat up your bodyguard.

More characters are introduced in "Be Cool" and they are more outrageous. Actors such as Vince Vaughn, The Rock, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andre, bring some good flavor to the movie. Just like with "Get Shorty", there are other sub-plots that all tie together into the main plot and main character. The movie has more-or-less a similar theme and flow to it as "Get Shorty". I think there were a few more funny parts in "Be Cool", but it lacked the originality of "Get Shorty."

I noticed that there was a different director for this project. His resume' isn't that long, but he has done "Friday", "The Negotiator","The Italian Job", and he is on "The Brazilian Job" project. These weren't that bad, nor was "Be Cool". If he continues to improve from here, he will wind up with a very nice career.

The sequel to Get Shory has Chili Palmer taking on the music business. Its not as good as the first film, but if taken on its own is a good time passer.

The problem here is two fold. First the film has a running gag about hating sequels, which would be fine if it was just a joke and didn't extend to the film making. Few of the actors in this film seem to be doing more than walking through the film for the cash or as a joke and it shows. The second problem is that there is way way too much going on and way too many people doing it. It seems to me that every time that someone of note shows up the movie has to stop to give them their couple of minutes on screen. Usually the material is decent, but it slows the pace down. I kept wanting to speed things up.

That said I did like the film, but regret having paid movie theater prices to do so. This is a rental, not something you pay ten bucks to see. If you get the chance to rent it or see it on cable give it a shot. Just don't expect an equal to Get Shorty.

Be Cool was amusing, but not really very good. From the first scene it was filled with silly references to other movies-especially Pulp Fiction. I'm usually a fan of clever reference, but in Be Cool they mostly fell flat. This movie had four music numbers, a dance sequence, and a montage. It was less a whole film, and more a meaningless parade of cameos. The writing was pretty bad, and most of the performances were desperate and awkward-notably Steven Tyler. Duane Johnson stood out in a movie full of celebrities, as he obviously had a really good time acting, and he was fun to watch. All told, I would have a hard time recommending this film.